Created by Congress in 1978 as a check against wiretapping
abuses by the government, the court meets in a secure,
nondescript room in the federal courthouse in
Washington. All of the current 11 judges, who serve
seven-year terms, were appointed to the special court by
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and 10 of them were
nominated to the bench by Republican presidents.
Why can't they change it to be effective? This seems to be the key point:
Geoffrey R. Stone, a professor of constitutional law at
the University of Chicago, said he was troubled by the idea
that the court is creating a significant body of law
without hearing from anyone outside the government,
forgoing the adversarial system that is a staple of the
American justice system. “That whole notion is missing in
this process,” he said.
